Americana: Red Dawn and the Reagan Era

OVERVIEW OF THE FILM

Quick Overview

• It is sometime in the “near future”• The Soviets invade the US

• But in the small town of Calumet, Colorado• Patrick Swayze, QB for the high school team

“Wolverines”, and his brother Charlie Sheen decide to fight back…

The Wolverines

Patrick Swayze

Charlie Sheen

Red Dawn: The Backstory

1. Global Food ShortageWarsaw Pact Nations suffer Famine, but US remains the Breadbasket of the World

2. Collapse of NATOGreen Party takes over West German, causes the dissolution of NATO

3. Latin America Aligns with Soviet UnionSoviets exploit Mexico torn by Civil War and ally with Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador

Famine in USSR leads to Invasion of the US to seize US Farmland

With NATO dissolved, Europe (UK excepted) turns it’s back against the US

THE SOVIET MAY BRING THEIR RE-EDUCATION CAMPS INTO THE US…

BUT WE HAVE “600 MILLION SCREAMING CHINAMEN ON OUR SIDE”…

…AND THE WOLVERINES TO AVENGE AMERICA

Martyrs for Freedom: The End of the Wolverines (and the film)

• Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen et al die, except for two Wolverines who fled the town

• War last several more years before ending with US triumphant

• Patriot Rock Memorial for the Wolverines (see right)

RED DAWN: FILM AS A NATION’S RHETORIC

Red Dawn in Political Context

• Ronald Reagan & Cold WarReleased two years after Ronald Regan’s “Evil Empire” speech

• Instability in Latin AmericaCivil War in El Salvador and Contras in Nicaragua, both countries allied with Soviets in film

• Official Government Consultation?Filmmakers supposedly consulted with Reagan’s Secretary of State to help create scenario for Soviet Invasion

1985: Red Dawn, Rocky, Rambo

• “Red Dawn” joined a few others movies in 1985 that celebrated the idea of the American Underdog fighting the Communist Juggernaut

Rocky IV (1985). Rocky Balboa versus USSR’s Ivan Drago

Rambo: First Blood II (1985)

• Rambo sent to find POWs in Vietnam

• Captured and Tortured by Soviet Officer, Lt. Col. Podovsky

• “Captured the attention of President Ronald Reagan and he lauded Stallone for portraying Rambo as a symbol of the U.S. Army.”

Red Dawn: Themes and Motifs1. Individuals Against the Machine

The Wolverines against the Soviet-Cuban troops in Colorado

2. America as UnderdogsFighting against the larger, more technologically advanced Communist Machine– The Wolverines were against the USSR Military & Allies– Ivan Drago was a taller, Olympic trained athlete– Rambo faced the Soviet-backed Vietnamese Military

3. America’s Struggle for FreedomWolverines similar to Washington’s struggle against the British or the G.I. against Nazi Germans